It is well known in the materials handling art that the use of a wheeled cart facilitates the single-handed movement of boxes or bundles of materials. The two wheeled hand truck has been adapted in many forms to allow the gripping or supporting of both regular and irregular shaped bundles. Such devices allow an individual to move heavy or bulky loads with economy of effort. Several adaptations of the hand truck illustrate the variety of uses for the hand truck.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,430,107 (Cronrath) discloses an adaptation of the hand truck for lifting and carrying motions in preparation for transportation. Cronrath discloses the addition of rockers which form a variable fulcrum for shifting the hand cart over a vertical range of distances. In use, the hand truck is positioned under a hanging load to be received, the adjustable shelf affixed to the hand truck is raised to contact the lower surface of the hanging load, and the hand truck is rocked forward on the rockers, effectively raising the shelf which then lifts the hanging load from its supporting hanger. When the load is disengaged from the supporting hanger the load is supported entirely by the shelf. The hand truck is then rotated back onto its wheels and the load is transported in the customary hand truck manner. The hand truck disclosed by Cronrath is of necessity sturdily built of relatively massive members suitable for the weight of the loads transported and to accommodate the lever-like manner in which it is used to lift the load. Cronrath does not suggest or teach that the hand truck could be constructed otherwise.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,632,412 (Nasgowitz) discloses a light weight hand truck suitable for holding light materials and moving the entire assemblage from place to place, as for example a moveable display within a store. The apparatus disclosed by Nasgowitz is fundamentally a box divided diagonally and configured with fasteners so that one section of the box may be attached to the other section, forming a hand truck shaped configuration. The addition of wheels completes the transformation from box to hand truck and the addition of shelves increases the supporting area available to hold the materials to be displayed. Nasgowitz teaches that a hand truck can be formed of light weight materials and that shelving can be added to increase the carrying capacity. Nasgowitz does not suggest, however, how additional carrying capacity can be obtained without the use of shelving.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,921,694 (Decker et al) discloses a hand truck adapted to be collapsible for storage or shipment. Decker teaches that such a hand truck can be sturdily constructed using a box frame with cross braces for the back and shaped side pieces detachably affixed to the base to form the traditional hand truck. The material to be carried and displayed is stacked on the base in a manner well known in the marketing art. A shelf or shelves may be added for additional display surface. Decker neither teaches nor suggests that the material to be transported is attached to the hand truck to prevent its dislodgment while being transported or supported.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,521,030 (Vance) discloses a hand truck constructed of light weight materials and adapted to be collapsible to facilitate storage. Vance teaches that two parallel upright members with a wheel at one end of each member and a handle at the distal end of each may be connected with suitably formed cross pieces to form shelves and other supports for the materials to be transported. Vance suggests that the transported materials may be detachably fastened to the apparatus with elastic cords or the like. The hand truck disclosed by Vance necessarily utilizes complex, carefully crafted pivotal fasteners to assemble the apparatus in such a manner that it may be collapsed for storage. Vance does not, however, teach how the hand truck can be simplified and constructed in a noncollapsible manner.
Each of the above described variations on the basic hand truck design address a particular need or a specific purpose. None, however, address the need for easily, simply and quickly attaching packages for transport.
In modern society, the current rate of consumption of materials which are used but not destroyed by that use has prompted a growing interest in recycling the objects from which those materials are made. The collection and recycling of aluminum, glass and plastic containers and newspapers are widely practiced examples of the materials which may be recycled, but which must be separated for recycling.
Recycling of materials used in the home typically requires the use of containers, frequently open boxes, bins or baskets, to segregate and collect the materials of different types to be recycled. When these containers are filled they must be transported somewhere to be emptied. In many cities this means that the filled containers are placed out at the curb or in the alley to be emptied by specially assigned trucks authorized by the municipality to perform the collection service. In many municipalities this service also includes standardized bins, often color coded, in which the materials are to be collected.
While the home owner is offered the convenience of having the recyclable material picked up, the homeowner is still faced with the inconvenience of storing the different containers while they are being filled, and then transporting the containers to the designated collection place. Storage of more than one box requires that the boxes either be spread out so that each may be accessed as needed, or that they be stacked and unstacked so that materials may be added to the containers below the topmost container.